Softball pitching thigh pad

ABSTRACT

A pad protecting a pitcher&#39;s thigh has a tube containing a flexible pad around a front of the tube but not between the pitcher&#39;s legs and at least a portion of the back of the tube. A belt encircles the pitcher&#39;s waist and a padded top portion and connecting strip connect to the belt and extend laterally from the pitcher&#39;s navel to just past the pitcher&#39;s hip and extends downward to connect to the front of the tube. The padding covers a strike area where the pitcher&#39;s glove arm and glove hit the pitcher&#39;s hip and thigh when throwing a fast pitch softball.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/182,944 filed Nov. 7, 2018, which relates to and claims the benefitof U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/733,797 filed Sep. 20, 2018 andentitled “SOFTBALL PITCHING THIGH PAD,” the entire contents of which arehereby wholly incorporated by reference.

STATEMENT RE: FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH/DEVELOPMENT

Not Applicable

BACKGROUND

A pitcher in fast pitch softball typically hits his or her mitt upon theupper and/or outside thigh of the leg during the pitching motion. Thisslapping or hitting of the mitt against the leg is used to provideproper timing when the pitcher is releasing the ball from the pitchingmound. The slapping may also provide a counterbalance to the pitchinghand to assist in balance, transfer of momentum to the ball andconsistency in pitching form. Through substantial repetition, thisslapping of the mitt upon the thigh may cause bruising of the leg aswell as varicose veins and/or other ailments to the pitcher, many ofwhich may not be realized until much later in life. Further, while theglove may pad the pitcher's hand to reduce the impact of slapping theglove against the thigh, the pitcher's forearm and/or elbow on the glovehand may also slap against pitcher's side or hip, resulting in injuryand discomfort to the forearm and/or elbow and bruising at the hip bonearea. There is thus a need for a method and apparatus to reduce damagecaused by slapping the pitcher's mitt on the pitcher's leg and thighduring fast pitch softball and to reduce the injury to the pitcher'sgloved limb and hip.

BRIEF SUMMARY

A pad for protecting a pitcher's thigh has a tube containing a flexiblepad around the front of the tube and not around at least a portion ofthe back of the tube. The pad may extend above the thigh and over thehip bone. A belt encircles the pitcher's waist and a padded connectingstrip extends laterally from the pitcher's navel or belly button to justpast the user's hip and extends downward to connect to the front of thetube. The padding covers a strike area where the pitcher's glove arm andglove hit the pitcher's hip and thigh when throwing a fast pitchsoftball.

A pad is provided for the pitcher's upper thigh and preferably for thehip bone, with the pad being large enough to cover a strike areaimpacted by the pitcher's glove during a pitch in a fast pitch softballgame. A belt encircles the pitcher's body, preferably at the waist, tohold the pad along the front and outer side of the pitcher's thighduring use, and to hold in position any portion of the pad extendingover the hip bone or across the back of the pitcher's thigh. Preferably,a padded connecting strip extends between the pitcher's thigh to thepitcher's belly button and hip during use, with a top portion extendingabove the pitcher's hip and below the pitcher's ribs. A tube of material(preferably elastic) encircles the pitcher's leg above the knee andpreferably encircles the pitcher's thigh and at least a portion of thepad, to secure the pad to the pitcher's leg during use and reducerelative motion between the pitcher and the pad. At least a portion ofthe tube of material is elastic and preferably covers the pad at thestrike area of the pitcher's thigh to resiliently urge the pad againstthe strike area of the pitcher's thigh. The tube of material may have anelastic portion only on the bottom of the tube, below the pad and abovethe knee, but advantageously the elastic portion extends over most orall of the pad, but preferably does not extend to the connecting stripof material. The elastic portion of the tube advantageously covers theinner thigh and connects to both sides of the pad, so the elasticportion advantageously encircles the thigh. During pitching, thepitcher's glove and elbow hits the pad at the strike area to reduceinjury.

The tube of material advantageously includes an elastic compression,sock-like tube which can be worn on the inside or the outside of thepitcher's clothing. The inside portion of the compression sock towardthe sagittal plane extends only partially up the inside thigh of thepitcher and preferably, but optionally, does not include any padding.The pad may extend from the front of the thigh to the back quad of theleg, wrapping around the outer thigh. The front portion of the pad andthe outside portion of the pad on the outer side of the pitcher's thighmay thus include the padding and the padding may extend across a backportion of the pitcher's thigh. The padding advantageously extends fromthe knee upwardly to a location above the strike area on the user'sthigh and hip and advantageously also extends through the connectingarea adjacent the pitcher's crotch and across the groin up to the hipadjacent the pitcher's pitching arms.

The belt allows a quick attachment of the pad to the pitcher andcooperates with the tube encircling the pitcher's leg to position thepad to cover the strike area during use. In use, the padding on thefront, back and the outer side portion of the pitcher's thigh and hipserves to reduce trauma to the thigh of the pitcher from slapping theglove against the strike area and thereby reduce the possibility ofbruising, varicose veins, and the like.

In more detail, a pitcher's thigh pad is provided for protecting astrike area on the pitcher's first thigh where a pitcher's glove and/orgloved arm may impact a front and outer side of the first thigh whenthrowing a pitch in fast pitch softball. The thigh pad may include abelt configured to encircle the pitcher's waist and a single tube offlexible material having opposed top and bottom ends and configured toencircle the first thigh during use. The tube has an inner side adjacentthe pitcher's second thigh and an outer side opposite thereto andfurther has a front side and opposing back side. The tube is sized toextend from just above the pitcher's knee to the pitcher's crotch whilestill encircling the pitcher's thigh.

The pad also preferably includes padding connected to and extendingalong the front and outer side of the tube. The padding is preferablysized to cover at least a majority of the strike area located verticallybetween the knee and the navel and located laterally from a verticalline along the inner side of the patella around the outside of thepitcher's leg and hip to a back of the first thigh. The padding does notextend along the inner side of the tube that is located between thepitcher's thighs during use and also does not cover the back side of thetube between the Sagittal plane and a parasagittal plane through thethigh bone of the first thigh. At least a majority of the padding isflexible padding and preferably a substantial majority is flexiblepadding, and ideally all the padding is flexible padding. A connectingstrip of flexible material advantageously extends between the belt andthe front side of the tube to position the tube vertically relative tothe belt. The connecting strip is not connected to at least theback-inner side of the tube. At least a portion of the single tubeincludes an elastic material resiliently urging the first tube towardthe pitcher's first thigh during use.

In further variations on this sleeve assembly, the padding is furtherconnected to and extends along the connecting strip between the belt andthe top of the tube, with the top of the connecting strip extendinglaterally from a location vertically above the pitcher's crotch to theback side of the pitcher's hip. The padding advantageously includes atop portion extending above the belt and extending upwards to the levelof the pitcher's belly button and extending laterally to a locationabove the pitcher's hip and on the back side of the pitcher's hip. Thepadding connected to the tube preferably extends over an arc of 180° to220° measured relative to a longitudinal axis of the tube during use,beginning at the vertical line along the inner side of the patella. Thepadding preferably has a front, inner edge extending along aparasagittal plane extending along the inner side of the patella. Theelastic material encircles the tube and at least a portion of thepadding.

The tube may comprise an inner and outer layer of fabric with thepadding contained between those two layers of fabric. The tube isadvantageously configured to fit an average sized pitcher's body of onethe designated sizes: large, medium and small, such that the tubeextends from above the average sized pitcher's knee of the designatedsize to just below the pitcher's crotch during use. The padding is alsopreferably sized for the designated sizes to extend in the verticaldirection from the knee to just below the navel of the average sizedfemale pitcher for the designated size, and is sized to extend in thelateral direction from just inside the patella to just past the hip andjust past the mid-frontal plane, and optionally to the middle of theback of the knee. The padding connected to the tube is configured tocover a substantial majority of the strike area enclosed by the tubeduring use and is preferably configured to cover a substantial majorityof the strike area during use. Similarly, the padding connected to thetube and connecting strip and top portion is configured to cover asubstantial majority of the strike area and preferably configured tocover a substantial majority of the strike area during use.

The padding advantageously comprises neoprene. The connecting strip maybe permanently connected to the belt, with the belt having a front andback strap. Each strap may have a length measured from the padding to adistal end of the respective strap, with the back strap having a lengththat is 2 to 4 times longer than the front strap. In further variations,a belt buckle connected to one of the belt traps is located so that whenthe padding on the front of the tube covers the front of the pitcher'sleg, the buckle is between the Sagittal Plane (also called the medialplane), and the mid-frontal plane (also called the Coronal Plane) on theside of the pitcher's body opposite the pitching pad.

The padding advantageously forms a cutout in the padding around thepitcher's crotch, with the cutout extending away from the sagittal planein a lateral direction toward the outside of the pitcher's thigh—whichcorresponds in direction with the outside of the tube. The tube isfunnel shaped to conform to the shape of the pitcher's thigh andpreferably has a diameter that is larger at the top than at the bottomby 0.5 to 5 inches.

Described another way, there is provided a pad for a pitcher's thighthat is adjacent the pitcher's glove arm, for use in a fast pitchsoftball game. The pad comprises a flexible pad configured to cover thepitcher's thigh and groin opposite the pitcher's pitching arm. The padis configured to extend in the lateral direction from a parasagittalplane along the sagittal side of the patella and extends past theoutside of the thigh at the mid-frontal plane and onto the back of thethigh and past the hip. The pad extends vertically from the top of thepitcher's knee to the level of the pitcher's navel and above the hip.The thigh pad does not extend between the pitcher's legs, especially atthe mid-frontal plane and does not extending onto the back of the leg atthe sagittal plane.

The pad has a belt with a front end and back end and a buckle toreleasably connect the belt ends together. The belt is connected to thepad, so the belt is located at or just above the hips and the belt islong enough to encircle the pitcher's waist at that location. A topportion of the pad extends above the belt. The pad is connected to thebelt, so the pad can cover the described area over the front and back ofthe pitcher's thigh adjacent the pitcher's glove arm during use. Thebelt is not connected to any thigh pad for the pitcher's other thighthat is adjacent the pitcher's pitching arm, so only the pad protectingthe pitcher's thigh by the glove hand is protected.

In still further variations, a tube is configured to encircle thepitcher's thigh and connected to the pad, with the tube having at leasta portion made of elastic material that resiliently holds the pad to thepitcher's leg during use. The pad may also include an elastic portionencircling a bottom end of the tube to urge the tube toward thepitcher's leg during use. The tube advantageously includes an elasticmaterial encircling the entire tube and resiliently urging the tubetoward the pitcher's thigh during use. The pad advantageously includestwo layers of fabric with the pad located between those two layers offabric and with at least one of the at least two layers of fabriccomprising the tube. Tubes with a diameter at the top end that is largerthan a diameter at a bottom end of the tube by 0.5 to 5 inches arebelieved suitable for most applications as the pitcher's thigh size andshape can vary. The padding is preferably of neoprene and is from 0.2 to0.8 inches thick. The belt may have a separate front and back strap eachconnected to an opposing side of the pad, with a buckle joining thestraps. The belt may comprise a single strap with one of a hook or loopfastener and with the pad including the other of a hook or loopfastener.

In more detail, a pitcher has first and second thighs, with the firstthigh adjacent the pitcher's arm during pitching. A pitcher's thigh padis provided for protecting a strike area on the pitcher's first thighwhere a pitcher's glove and/or arm may impact a front, back and outerside of the first thigh when throwing a pitch in fast pitch softball.The thigh pad includes a belt configured to encircle the pitcher's waistand a single tube of flexible material having opposed top and bottomends and configured to encircle the first thigh during use. The tube hasan inner side adjacent the pitcher's second thigh and an outer sideopposite thereto and further has a front side and opposing back side.Padding is connected to and extends along the front, back and outer sideof the tube but preferably not between the pitcher's legs and on theback of the thigh at the crotch. The padding is sized to cover at leasta majority of the strike area. The padding does not extend along theinner side of the tube that is located between the pitcher's thighsduring use and also does not cover the back side of the tube connectedto the inner thigh. At least a majority of the padding is flexiblepadding, having no impact sheet to absorb and spread impact forces tothe padding. A connecting strip of flexible material extends between thebelt and the front side of the tube to position the tube verticallyrelative to the belt. At least a portion of the single tube includes anelastic material resiliently urging the first tube toward the pitcher'sfirst thigh during use to hold the tube and its padding in positionduring pitching. The elastic allows the tube to fit a large range ofthigh sizes while holding the padding in position over the strike areawhere the pitcher's arm and glove most commonly strike the user's bodyduring pitching.

In further variations, the padding is further connected to and extendsalong the connecting strip and extends from the top of the tube to thebelt. A top portion of the padding may extend above the belt to thebelly button and extend from the pitcher's belly button to the back sideof the pitcher's hip. The padding connected to the tube advantageouslyextends over an arc of about 180° to 220° measured relative to alongitudinal axis of the tube during use. The elastic materialadvantageously encircles the tube and at least a portion of the padding.The tube may include an inner and outer layer of fabric with the paddingcontained between those two layers of fabric.

Advantageously, the tube is configured to fit an average sized pitcher'sbody of a designated size such that the tube extends from above thepitcher's knee to just below the pitcher's crotch during use. Theconnecting strip and top portion of the padding above the belt may beconfigured to extend to and preferably cover the pitcher's belly buttonand that portion of the abdomen located above the front side of thetube. The padding connected to the tube is advantageously configured tocover at least a majority of the strike area on the thigh and hip thatis encircled by the tube and/or covered by the connecting strip belowthe belt and covered by the top portion of the padding above the belt.Preferably, the padding connected to the tube is configured to cover asubstantial majority of the strike area enclosed by the tube and/orcovered by the connecting strip.

In still further variations, the connecting strip is permanentlyconnected to the belt and the belt has a front and back strap eachmeasured from the end of the connecting strip, with the back straphaving a length that is 2 to 4 times longer than the front strap. Theconnecting strip may be permanently connected to the belt with the beltbuckle located so that when the padding on the front of the tube coversthe front of the pitcher's thigh, and with the locking part of thebuckle advantageously located below the level of the belly button andbetween the sagittal plane and the mid-frontal plane on the side of thepitcher's body opposite the pitching pad. Any type of belt bucklesuitable for sports activities is believed usable. Further, a curvedcutout in the padding may be formed around the pitcher's crotch, withthe cutout extending away from the sagittal plane in a lateraldirection. Additionally, the tube may have a diameter that is larger atthe top than at the bottom by 0.5 to 5 inches. Each of these abovevariations may be used alone or in any combination with the tube(s) andconnecting strip(s) described herein.

There is also provided a pad for a pitcher's thigh for use in a fastpitch softball game. The pad may include a thigh pad with at least amajority of the thigh pad being flexible. The thigh pad may beconfigured to cover the pitcher's thigh opposite the pitcher's pitchingarm with the pad configured to cover the thigh from the sagittal planeto the mid-frontal plane and from the pitcher's knee to at least thepitcher's groin and preferably to the pitcher's hip bone adjacent thepitching arm. The thigh pad does not extend between the pitcher's legsat the mid-frontal plane and does not extend onto the back of the leg atthe sagittal plane. The pad does extend from the pitcher's crotch,across the front and outside of the thigh, and part way around the backof the thigh—preferably to the middle of the back of the thigh. The padincludes a belt having a front end and back end with a buckle on thebelt to releasably connect the belt ends together. The belt is longenough to encircle the pitcher's waist. There is no second thigh padconnected to the belt to protect the pitcher's second thigh. The beltconnects to the thigh pad at a location that is offset from the buckle adistance sufficient to locate the thigh pad over the pitcher's thighduring use.

In further variations, the pad may include a tube configured to encirclethe pitcher's thigh and connected to the pad, the tube having at least aportion made of elastic material that resiliently holds the pad to thepitcher's leg during use. Additionally, an elastic portion on a bottomend of the tube may be provided to urge the tube against the pitcher'sleg during use and hold the tube and pad in place. The padadvantageously extends to the pitcher's waist and forms a connectingstrip that is configured to extend from the sagittal plane to just pastthe mid-frontal plane and may further include a tube that is configuredto encircle the user's thigh and is connected to the pad around aportion of the user's thigh sufficiently to hold the pad in position onthe pitcher's thigh during use. The tube may include an elastic materialencircling the tube and resiliently urging the tube toward the pitcher'sthigh during use to hold the tube and/or padding in place. Theconnecting strip and tube may include two layers of fabric to hold thepad, with at least one layer of fabric containing elastic material. Thetube advantageously has a diameter at the top end that is larger than adiameter at a bottom end of the tube by 0.5 to 5 inches. The pad isadvantageously from 0.2 to 0.8 inches thick. The belt may include a topportion of the connecting strip as a part of the belt.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other advantages and features of the invention will be betterappreciated in view of the following drawings and descriptions in whichlike numbers refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the back of the pitching padconfigured for wearing on the left leg of the pitcher;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the front of the pitching pad of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the pitching pad of FIG. 1 on apitcher's left leg;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the pitching pad of FIG. 1 on a pitchershortly after a ball is released by a pitcher;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the pitching pad of FIG. 1 on a pitcherat the end of the pitch;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a belt connected to the top of apitching pad of FIG. 1, as shown in cross-section in FIG. 8C;

FIGS. 8A to 8C are cross-sectional views showing a belt connected to atop of the pitching pad of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a front view of a further embodiment of the pitching pad,shown configured for wearing on the left leg of the pitcher;

FIG. 10 is a back view of the pitching pad of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the pitching pad of FIG. 9 on apitcher's left leg;

FIG. 12 is a conceptual sectional view of a pitcher with legs that arecircular in cross-section and a tubular pad encircling the left leg;

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along section 13-13 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 14 is a front view of the pitching pad of FIG. 9, but for aleft-handed pitcher;

FIG. 15 is a back view of the pitching pad of FIG. 14.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As used herein, the relative directions up and down, above and below,top and bottom, are with respect to directions along the vertical axiswhen a person is standing on the ground. As used herein, a majority or amajor portion means over 50% while a substantial portion means 90% ormore. As used herein, the sagittal plane S (FIG. 12) (also known as themid-sagittal plane) is the vertical plane between the eyes and legs of astanding person that divides a standing person in half, while aparasagittal plane is offset from but parallel to the mid-sagittal orSagittal Plane S. As used herein, the mid-frontal plane MF (also knownas the mid-coronal plane) is a vertical plane perpendicular to thesagittal plane and extending through the user's shoulders, palms,fingers, legs and feet—dividing a person standing into front and backhalves. As used herein, the traverse plane or lateral plane isorthogonal to the sagittal and mid-frontal planes and may be envisionedas a generally horizontal through a standing person. As used herein, thegroin includes the lower part of the abdomen below the waist and thejuncture with the inner part of the thigh. As used herein, elasticmaterial refers to material that stretches and resiliently seeks toresume its shape or position before stretching.

The following numbers refer to the following parts: 10—pitching pad;12—tube; 14—front of tube; 16—back of tube; 18—inner side of tube;20—outer side of tube; 22—connecting strip; 24—belt; 26—buckle; 28—cuff;30—padding; 32—inclined bend line; 34—conforming cutout; 40—top portion;41—parasagittal plane; 42—stitching; 44—vertical line; MF—mid-frontalplane; and S—Sagittal Plane.

Referring to FIGS. 1-6, a pitching thigh pad 10 includes a single tube12 having a front 14, back 16, inner side 18 and outer side 20. A topend of the tube 12 is adjacent the pitcher's crotch during use and abottom end of the tube is adjacent the user's knee joint during use. Aconnecting strip 22 extends from a top of the front and outer sides 14,20 to the pitcher's waist where it is connected to a belt 24 that aloneor in connection with the connecting strip 22, encircles the pitcher'swaist to hold the thigh pad 10 in place during use. A releasable buckle26 on one or both free ends of the belt couples and uncouples the beltat the location of the buckle and allows the pitcher to adjust thetightness of the belt. An optional cuff 28 may be connected at thebottom of the tube 12. Note that there is only a single tube 12connected to the belt 24 as only one thigh is protected by the pitchingpad, the thigh adjacent the pitcher's glove arm. The belt 24 is notconnected to a second thigh pad protecting the pitcher's thigh adjacentthe pitcher's pitching arm.

A bottom part of the connecting strip 22 is connected to the top part ofthe tube 12 along the front and outer sides 14, 20 of the tube. Theconnecting strip 22 could extend slightly onto an outer portion of theback side 16 of the tube 12, but preferably only to the extent thepitcher's arm or mitt abuts that back side 16. The connecting strip 22is smaller adjacent the tube 12 and larger at the pitcher's waist and isgenerally trapezoidal in shape when laid flat with waist and tubeconnections being generally parallel and the ends of the connectingstrip inclined outward, away from the bottom of the tube 12 (FIG. 2.).

The tube 12 is preferably slightly funnel shaped to better conform tothe shape of the pitcher's thigh which is larger at the top adjacent thepitcher's crotch, and smaller at the bottom by the pitcher's knee joint.A difference in diameters of 0.5 to 5 inches (bottom and top) isbelieved suitable, with a difference of 1 to 3 inches believedpreferable for the majority of pitchers' thighs. The actual diameters ofthe tube 10 will vary as the thighs of the pitchers vary with age,height, gender, build and weight of the pitcher.

The tube 12 is padded with padding 30. Because the padding providesthermal insulation and can cause increased sweating beneath the padding,the padding preferably extends only in the area of the strike area,which is where the pitcher's gloved arm hits the pitcher's lower bodyduring pitching and where the pitcher's glove hits the pitcher's thighduring pitching. This strike area protected by padding 30 is on the legopposite the pitcher's pitching arm. In the traverse or lateral plane,this strike area covered by padding 30 typically extends from the innerthigh where the legs begin to rub, laterally across the front of thethigh and to the back portion of the outer side of the thigh. The strikearea does not cover the very back of the thigh or back 16 of the tube 12and does not cover the back portion of the inner side 18 of the tube,and advantageously does not cover the inner portion of the thigh andtube where the user's thighs may rub together. This strike areagenerally corresponds to the front portion of the thigh located betweenthe sagittal plane and the mid-frontal plane, with the strike area notextending between the thighs and not extending across the back of thethigh adjacent the intersection of the sagittal plane and themid-frontal plane.

The strike area covered by padding 30 typically extends vertically fromjust above the knee joint of the pitcher's knee that is opposite thepitching arm, to just above the pitcher's hip bone and at or slightlybelow the pitcher's navel or belly button. Pitchers have differentlength legs and arms and torsos, especially adolescents, so thepitcher's gloved arm can hit the pitcher's body from the hip bonedownward to the knee, and the gloved hand can impact the thigh from theoutside of the thigh to the inner thigh. It is difficult for the tube 12to encircle a moving joint so the bottom of the tube 12 isadvantageously at the back of the knee where it flexes, and just abovethe patella.

The padding 30 thus preferably extends across the outer side 20 andfront 14 of the tube 12. The padding 30 may further and preferablyextend slightly into the outer side of the back 16 of the tube and mayextend slight into the front of the inner side 18 of the tube. Thepadding 30 preferably does not extend across a majority of the back side16 of the tube and does not extend across a majority of the inner side18 of the tube 12. These locations of the front, back, inner side andouter side assume each one covers ¼ of the periphery of the thigh andtube 12, so if the tube 12 and pitcher's thigh are circular, each coversand arc of about 90°. Advantageously, the padding 30 extends over an arcof about 180°, and preferably extends over an arc of about 200°-210°beginning at a location on the front of pitcher's legs at the crotch,preferably where the thighs no longer abut. The beginning location isbelieved to be at an angle of about 35-40° from the mid-frontal planemeasured along a longitudinal axis through the center of the pitcher'sthigh when the pitcher is standing. The padding 30 can extend furthertoward the mid-frontal plane but it then begins to rub against thepitcher's other thigh, depending on the thickness of the padding and thesize of the pitcher's thigh. The padding 30 can extend beyond the centerof the back of the pitcher's thigh but then it is seldom hit by thepitcher's glove and adds unnecessary weight and insulation which heatsthe pitcher's thigh.

The padding 30 may hang down over the pitcher's kneecap and knee jointbut the tube 12 preferably does not extend into bend of the knee on theback of the pitcher's leg. The padding 30 is preferably a single sheetof continuous material enclosed between two or more thin layers offlexible material such as spandex, polyester, cotton or other suitablematerial. The flexible fabric material may be bonded to the padding byadhesives or thermally or other connection mechanisms, or the paddingmay be formed in discrete segments and contained in separate pocketsconfigured for the shape of each segment, advantageously with at leastsome of the segment lines following the bend lines of the body along thejuncture of the thighs with the trunk of the body. Thus, an inclinedjuncture line 32 forming a fold line 32 during use, may be used toaccommodate bending at the waist or raising of the leg without bendingof the padding 30 itself while the material enclosing the padding flexesto accommodate the bending. Similarly, the periphery of the padding 30may be shaped to conform to body parts, such as an outwardly curved,conform cutout 34 adjacent the pitcher's crotch.

The padding 30 is of a different material than the fabric that ispreferably used to hold the padding in place during use. The padding maybe any suitable padding material but is preferably a layer of natural orartificial rubber. Neoprene is believed suitable. A layer from ¼ to ¾inches thick is believed suitable for the padding 30, with thickerpadding being more suitable for stronger pitchers exerting more force onthe pitcher's thigh and thus needing more padding to accommodate theresulting impacts. The padding 30 is preferably of uniform thickness forease of manufacture, but the thickness may be varied, especially if thepadding 30 is separated into segments and held in separate pockets inthe pitching pad.

The padding 30 is preferably all flexible so a layer of padding can bebent back onto itself manually without causing permanent deformation orbreakage of the padding. The flexible padding 30 is thus distinguishablefrom hard surfaced padding of the type typically used in footballpadding of thighs, which may have a thin impact sheet of hard plasticwith cloth or foam backing interposed between the hard, impact sheet andthe user's body so the stiff sheet of plastic absorbs and spreads impactforces over the padding interposed between the impact sheet and theuser. The padding 30 may be a combination of flexible padding and hardsurfaced padding or material connected to the padding. Advantageously,at least a majority of the padding 30 is flexible padding.

The tube 12 preferably includes some elastic material located toresiliently urge the padding 30 toward the user's thigh. The elasticcompression selected so that it does not impede the pitcher'scirculation. A tube 12 made of a compression material is believedsuitable. Alternatively, an elastic cuff 28 may be provided at thebottom of the tube 12 to hold the pitching pad against the pitcher's legby encircling the leg, above the knee joint. The cuff 28 may be usedalone or with an elastic material in the tube 12 to urge the padding 30against the pitcher and hold it in place during use.

The connecting strip 22 is also preferably padded as a portion coversthe pitcher's hip and as the mitt may impact that portion of the lowerabdomen. The connecting strip 22 advantageously extends in the verticaldirection to the pitcher's belly button or navel and thus extends fromadjacent the crotch, to the belly button and around the hip.

The belt 24 may take the form of a flexible strap of material with amechanism to releasably join two ends of the strap. The belt 24 may forma continuous loop and pass through a pocket formed in the top end of theconnecting strip 22 or be otherwise connected to the top end of theconnecting strip, as for example by passing through loops, or by rivetsor stitching connecting the parts, as shown in part in FIGS. 1 and 7-8.As shown in FIGS. 1-3, the belt 24 may use the connecting strip 22 aspart of the belt and connect to opposing sides of the pitching pad 10with a buckle 26 at the free end of one segment releasably connecting tothe other free end of the belt.

As used herein, the reference to a buckle, including buckle 26, maycomprise a tongue passing through holes in one belt end, or interlockingtabs on the free ends of the belt, a flexible belt end passing through apair of D-rings in an interlocking manner, or hook and loop fasteners onthe opposing ends of the belt or mating portions of the belt, or othermechanisms for releasably fastening the opposing ends of a clothingbelt. The particular type of buckle is not believed critical to theinvention.

When the belt 24 is permanently fastened to the connecting strip 22, thebelt straps on opposing sides of the connecting strip are not of equallength as the front strap 24 a is shorter than the back strap 24 b. Thefront strap 26 a and buckle 28 are preferably offset from the sagittalplane toward the hip opposite the hip above which the pitching pad 10 islocated, so the buckle is between the hip and the back of the legopposite the pitching pad 10, so the buckle is in front of themid-frontal plane but offset to one side of the sagittal plane. Theconnecting part or retaining part of the buckle 26 is advantageouslylocated between the mid-frontal and sagittal planes on the side oppositethat on which the tube 12 is located. The length of the front strap 24 ais preferably between one-quarter and half the length of the back strap24 b. Alternatively described, the back strap 24 b has a length that isfrom 2 to 4 times longer than the front strap 24 a.

As seen in FIGS. 4-6, during use, the pitcher passes a leg through thetube 12 and rotates the tube into a comfortable position to cover thestrike area on the pitcher's body with the padding 30. The tube 12 andpitcher's leg may be rotated relative to one another to position thepadding relative to the pitcher's thigh both circumferentially andvertically. The location of the top of the connecting strip 22 can bepositioned at different locations around the pitcher's waist to positionthe tube 12 as well as position the connecting strip at differentcircumferential locations on the pitcher's body, and at differentvertical locations on the pitcher's thigh. The connecting strip 22 maybe positioned to cover the belly button (navel) and hip and extendsslightly around the pitcher's back and butt enough so the gloved armhits the padding 30 rather than hitting the pitcher's body (e.g., hip)during pitching. The connecting strip 22 extends over the pitcher'slower abdomen to the top of the tube 12 immediately adjacent to thepitcher's crotch. The tube 12 is positioned so the glove hits thepadding 30 on the front 14 of the tube and extends over the inner andouter sides 18, 20 of the tube to an extent that will vary with thepitcher. The padding 30 is preferably positioned so the strike area onone side of the pitcher's groin from the belly button to the hip aresubstantially covered, and preferably so the strike area adjacent thepitcher crotch on the pitcher's front thigh and outside thigh is alsosubstantially covered by the padding 30. Preferably, the strike areaadjacent the pitcher's crotch and on the thigh, groin and hip aresubstantially covered.

The above described pitching pad is shown for a right-handed pitcher,with the tube 12 having padding 30 on the front 12 and outer side 20 tocover the front and outer side of the pitcher's left leg. If thepitching pad 10 as shown is put on the left leg, it won't fit as theconnecting strip 22 will stop at the user's crotch if the tube 12 isrotated so the padding 30 is at the front of the thigh. The pitching pad30 must be constructed in a mirror image to fit on the other leg.

In use, the padding tube 12 and connecting strip 22 will be provided indifferent sizes, just as pants are provided in different lengths andwaist sizes. A specified size is configured for use by pitchers havingdifferent, but average body sizes such that the padding 30 covers atleast a majority of the strike area of the average body sizes for whichthe padding is designed to fit, and advantageously covers a substantialmajority of that strike area. Thus, a pitching pad 10 designed to coverthe navel or belly button of an average pitcher and extend to the backside of the pitcher's hip, may not cover the belly button in actual usewhen covering the hip, or vice versa. When the pitching pad 10 isconfigured to fit an average sized pitcher's body of a designated size,the tube 12 advantageously extends from just above the pitcher's knee atthe fold in the back of the knee and the patella at the front of theknee, to just below the pitcher's crotch during use, with a conformingcutout 34 in the tube and/or connecting strip 22 located within 1-3inches of the pitcher's crotch. Extending the tube 12 into the crotchbecomes uncomfortable so the tube ends and the cutout 34 begins lowenough to avoid discomfort for the average sized player for which thepitching pad is configured. The connecting strip 22 advantageouslycontinues upward to end at or cover the pitcher's belly button and thehip located above the front side 14 of the tube 12.

A pitching pad 30 extending further above the hip and possibly less ofthe leg is shown in FIGS. 9 to 15. The embodiment of FIGS. 1-8 has aconnecting area 22 connected to the belt and the belt is difficult tomaintain at the vertical level of the belly-button. In the configurationof FIGS. 9-13, the padding extends above the belt, which is configuredto rest on or slightly above the hips—for a right-handed pitcher. For aleft-handed pitcher, the pitching pad is a mirror image about thesagittal plane S, or bilaterally symmetric. Rather than show and repeatthe description of the mirror-image parts for all embodiments, only theembodiment of FIGS. 9-13 is shown in FIGS. 14-15 for a pitching pad fora left-handed pitcher. The description and relative position of theparts on the body relative to the Sagittal plane S is the same for aleft-handed or right handed pitching pad as the only difference is thata right-handed pitcher wears the pitching pad on the left leg or moreprecisely, parts of the left thigh, left hip, and outer left buttocks,while a left-handed pitcher wears the pitching pad on the right leg, andmore specifically, parts of the right thigh, right hip and outer rightbuttocks. Given the mirror-image symmetry of the pitching padconfiguration and parts relative to the Sagittal Plane S, it is notbelieved that a repetitive detailed description is necessary tounderstand the construction of the pitching pad worn on the right-leg byleft handed-pitchers of the pitching pad shown in any of the Figuresherein.

These FIGS. 9-15 thus show the connecting portion 22 extending betweenthe top of the tube 12 to the belt 24 and show the pad 30 having a topportion 40 that extends a distance vertically above the belt and abovethe. The top portion 40 advantageously does not extend to the pitcher'sribs. The front side 12 of the pitching pad has the top portion 40extending to a vertical location at or slightly below the level of thepitcher's navel or belly button. The top portion 40 extends laterallyacross the front side 12 of the lag, and across the outside 20 of theleg and hip, to a location on the outer but back side of the pitcher'sleg (specifically the outer portion of the buttocks and outer backportion of the thigh). The side of the pitching pad 10 near the Sagittalplane extends along a line along the inside of the kneecap or patellaupwards, with a slight cutout 34 or curve toward the hip at a locationadjacent the pitcher's crotch.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10, a parasagittal plane 41 is shown passingthrough the pitcher's tibia or thigh bone, recognizing the bone may becurved but is shown as straight for purposes of this application. Thepitcher's kneecap is centered on the lower end of the thigh bone. Thefront side of the padding 10 extends along a generally vertical line 44passing to the inner side of the pitcher's kneecap or patella,immediately adjacent to the kneecap. The vertical line 44 intersects thecutout 34 adjacent its middle where the cutout begins to curve towardthe pitcher's navel. The top portion of the connecting portion 22 curvesinward toward the navel and toward the Sagittal Plane S and away fromthe parasagittal plane 44 at an angle of 15-40° from the vertical andpreferably at an angle of about 30° from the. The slight inclinationtoward the Sagittal plane gives the top portion 40 a slightly enlargedappearance.

The cut-out 34 is as generally described above, but these figures show amore pronounced lateral extension of the cut-out to provide more roomand less binding around the user's crotch. pitcher's crotch during use.The inner side of the padding 30 adjacent the pitcher's crotch extendsupward at an angle of 10-30° to the vertical, and preferably 10-15° tothe vertical from the conforming cut-out 34. The angle will change withthe height and width of the pitcher between the pitcher's knees andnavel, with generally similar angles for large, medium and small sizedpitchers, and with variations for wider and skinnier pitchers.

The padding 10 extends across the front and outer side of the pitcher'sleg and body, past the mid-frontal plane and the pitcher's hips and asfar as the parasagittal plane 41 through the pitcher's thigh, but at theback of the thigh (FIG. 10). Advantageously, the padding 10 ends betweenthe mid-frontal plane and the back side of the thigh at the parasagittalplane 41. As seen in FIG. 12, the padding 10 extends an arc θ of about180° to 220°, centered on the thigh protected by the pitching pad.Because the pitcher's hips are usually larger than the thighs, thepadding tapers slightly inward toward the pitcher's thigh bone or femur.Thus, as seen in FIGS. 9 and 10, the profile of the outer side 20 tapersslightly outward an upward and outward angle of 5-10° to the vertical,so the top portion 40 is slightly larger in the lateral direction at thetop of the padding, than adjacent the lateral plane through the cutout34. For a right-side pitching pad, the above angles and arcs are simplyshifted to the right leg instead of the left leg.

The tubular portion 12 is generally tapered as described above, beingwider at the top near the pitcher's crotch, and smaller at the bottom bythe pitcher's knee, with the connecting portion containing the cutout 34and extending upward to the juncture with the belt 24. Because the tube12 does not extend the entire vertical length of the padding 30, theback side of the buttock is not covered. Advantageously, the padding intube 12 extends from the fold at the back of the pitcher's knee to thecrotch along the front 12 and outside 20 of the tube, but does notextend above the level of the crotch at the back of the thigh andbuttock. The cuff 28 is preferably elastic and is as described above.

The top portion 40 may have a straight, generally horizontal top edgewith rounded corners, but advantageously has a continuously curved topedge. The rounded corners on the top portion 40 are desirable to avoid asharp corner poking the pitcher's stomach or ribs if the pitcher bendsforward or to either side. The top portion 40 wraps around the pitcher'swaist, above the pitcher's hip as described herein.

The belt 24 connects intermediate the top of the padding 30 and its topportion 40, and the tube 12. The top portion 40 refers to that portionof the padding 30 extending above the belt 24, or the line of the beltstraps encircling the waist during use in cases where the belt isfastened to opposing sides of the padding 30 so the padding forms aportion of the belt. The belt 24 may connect to opposing sides of thepadding 30 and/or to any material enclosing the preferred foam materialforming the absorbent portion of the padding 30. Such a connection isshown in FIG. 10, with stitching 42 through a reinforced area on thepadding 30 padding to connect to the ends of the belt straps 24 a, 24 b.Alternatively, the belt 24 may pass along the width of the padding 30and be connected to some or all of that width of the padding, or to anyfabric enclosing the padding. Thus, the belt connections of FIGS. 8A to8C may be used with the belt of FIGS. 9-10. The belt 24 isadvantageously located on the side of the padding 30 closest to thepitcher's body during use, but may pass through a slot in the padding oron the outer surface of the padding on the side away from the pitcherduring use.

In the depicted embodiments, the tube 12 holds the padding 12 to thepitcher's thigh during use, and the belt 24 holds the upper portion ofthe padding 30 to the top portion of the pitcher's thigh and hip duringuse. Both the tube and belt connections encircle the pitcher's body andallow the padding 30 to move and flex with the pitcher's body duringpitching and when fielding the softball during a game.

The buckle 26 may comprise any connector for flat straps suitable foruse as belts. FIGS. 9-10 show two metal circles fastened to the frontstrap 24 a and the back strap 24 b intertwined with the circles to cinchthe metal circles tight and set the length of the belt. The buckle 26may also include hook and loop fasteners with the hook and loop parts onthe straps or on one strap and the pad. Thus, the buckle 26 couldinclude one of a hook or loop fastener on a distal end of a strap withthe pad having the other of a hook or loop fastener. The type of bucklefor the adjustable length belt is not believed critical to the operationof the invention. The padding 30 is as described above and is preferablyneoprene bonded to an elastic material such as spandex on opposing sidesof the padding. Any stretchy polyurethane material is believed suitable.

As required, detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosedherein; however, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodimentsare merely exemplary of the invention, which may be embodied in variousforms. Therefore, specific structural and functional details disclosedherein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis forthe claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in theart to variously employ the present invention in virtually anyappropriately detailed structure.

The above description is given by way of example, and not limitation.Given the above disclosure, one skilled in the art could devisevariations that are within the scope and spirit of the invention,including various ways of connecting the padding 30 to the flexiblesheets of material enclosing the padding. Further, the various featuresof this invention can be used alone, or in varying combinations witheach other and are not intended to be limited to the specificcombination described herein. Thus, the invention is not to be limitedby the illustrated embodiments.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pitcher's thigh pad for protecting a strikearea on the pitcher's first thigh where a pitcher's glove and/or glovedarm may impact a front and outer side of the first thigh when throwing apitch in fast pitch softball, comprising: a belt configured to encirclethe pitcher's waist; a single tube of flexible material having opposingtop and bottom ends and configured to encircle the first thigh duringuse, the tube having an inner side adjacent the pitcher's second thighand an outer side opposite thereto and further having a front side andopposing back side, the tube sized to extend from just above thepitcher's knee to the pitcher's crotch while still encircling thepitcher's thigh; padding connected to and extending along the front andouter side of the tube, the padding being sized to cover at least amajority of the strike area located vertically between the knee and thenavel and extending laterally from a vertical line along the inner sideof the patella around the outside of the leg and hip to a back of thefirst thigh, the padding not extending along the inner side of the tubethat is located between the pitcher's thighs during use and, at least amajority of the padding being flexible padding; a connecting strip offlexible material extending between the belt and the front side of thetube to position the tube vertically relative to the belt, theconnecting strip not being connected to at least the back side of thetube adjacent the inner side of the tube; wherein at least a portion ofthe single tube includes an elastic material resiliently urging thefirst tube toward the pitcher's first thigh during use.
 2. The sleeveassembly of claim 1, wherein the padding is further connected to andextends along the connecting strip between the belt and the top of thetube, and wherein the top of the connecting strip extends laterally froma location vertically above the pitcher's crotch to the back side of thepitcher's hip.
 3. The sleeve assembly of claim 2, wherein the paddingincludes a top portion extending above the belt and extending upwards tothe level of the pitcher's belly button and laterally to a locationabove and on the back side of the pitcher's hip.
 4. The sleeve assemblyof claim 3, wherein the padding connected to the tube extends over anarc of 180° to 220° measured relative to a longitudinal axis of the tubeduring use.
 5. The sleeve assembly of claim 4, wherein the padding has afront, inner edge extending along a parasagittal plane extending alongthe inner side of the patella.
 6. The sleeve assembly of claim 3,wherein the elastic material encircles the tube and at least a portionof the padding.
 7. The sleeve assembly of claim 3, wherein the tubecomprises an inner and outer layer of fabric and the padding iscontained between those two layers of fabric.
 8. The sleeve assembly ofclaim 3, wherein the tube is configured to fit an average sizedpitcher's body of one the designated sizes: large, medium and small,such that the tube extends from above the average sized pitcher's kneeof the designated size to just below the pitcher's crotch during use. 9.The sleeve assembly of claim 7, wherein the padding comprises neoprene.10. The sleeve assembly of claim 8, wherein the padding connected to thetube is configured to cover a substantial majority of the strike areaenclosed by the tube during use.
 11. The sleeve assembly of claim 8,wherein the padding connected to the tube and connecting strip and topportion is configured to cover a substantial majority of the strikearea.
 12. The sleeve assembly of claim 3, wherein the connecting stripis permanently connected to the belt which has a front and back strap,each strap having a length measured from the padding to a distal end ofthe respective strap, the back strap having a length that is 2 to 4times longer than the front strap.
 13. The sleeve assembly of claim 3,wherein the connecting strip is permanently connected to the belt with abelt buckle located so that when the padding on the front of the tubecovers the front of the pitcher's leg, the buckle is between thesagittal plane and the mid-frontal plane on the side of the pitcher'sbody opposite the pitching pad.
 14. The sleeve assembly of claim 3,further comprising a cutout in the padding around the pitcher's crotch,the cutout extending away from the sagittal plane in a lateraldirection.
 15. The sleeve assembly of claim 3, wherein the tube has adiameter that is larger at the top than at the bottom by 0.5 to 5inches.
 16. A pad for a pitcher's thigh that is adjacent the pitcher'sglove arm, for use in a fast pitch softball game, comprising: a flexiblepad configured to cover the pitcher's thigh and groin opposite thepitcher's pitching arm, the pad configured to extend in the lateraldirection from a parasagittal plane along the Sagittal side of thepatella and extending past the outside of the thigh at the mid-frontalplane and onto the back of the thigh and past the hip, and to extendvertically from the pitcher's knee to the level of the pitcher's naveland above the hip, the thigh pad not extending between the pitcher'slegs at the mid-frontal plane and not extending onto the back of the legat the sagittal plane; a belt having a front end and back end with abuckle to releasably connect the belt ends together, the belt connectedto the pad to be located at or just above the hips and being long enoughto encircle the pitcher's waist at that location, a top portion of thepad extending above the belt, the pad connected to the belt so the padcan cover the described area over the front and back of the pitcher'sthigh adjacent the pitcher's glove arm during use, the belt not beingconnected to any thigh pad for the pitcher's other thigh that isadjacent the pitcher's pitching arm.
 17. The pad of claim 16, furthercomprising a tube configured to encircle the pitcher's thigh andconnected to the pad, the tube having at least a portion made of elasticmaterial that resiliently holds the pad to the pitcher's leg during use.18. The pad of claim 17, further comprising an elastic portionencircling a bottom end of the tube to urge the tube toward thepitcher's leg during use.
 19. The pad of claim 18, wherein the tubeincludes an elastic material encircling the tube and resiliently urgingthe tube toward the pitcher's thigh during use.
 20. The pad of claim 17,wherein the pad includes two layers of fabric with the pad locatedbetween those two layers of fabric and with at least one of the at leasttwo layers of fabric comprising the tube.
 21. The pad of claim 20,wherein the tube has a diameter at the top end that is larger than adiameter at a bottom end of the tube by 0.5 to 5 inches.
 22. The pad ofclaim 19, wherein the pad is from 0.2 to 0.8 inches thick.
 23. The padof claim 19, wherein the belt has a separate front and back strap eachconnected to an opposing side of the pad.
 24. The pad of claim 17,wherein the belt comprises a strap with one of a hook or loop fastenerand the pad includes the other of a hook or loop fastener.